Strangers Like Me
by Sakura aka L-sama no Miko
Summary: Yes this is from the Tarzan soundtrack. This takes place in alternate universe where Xel & Lina meet for the first time.


You Must Love Me

Author's notes:  
I don't own any of the characters so don't sue me.  
The song belongs to Phil Collins, Disney and a whole other people therefore it's not mine.  
This takes place in an alternate universe where Xel's only contact with humans is those who Xelas caught on her island for 'dinner.' If you have any suggestions for a title for this thing, please e-mail me! Also any C&C welcome.

-Sakura  


- flashback/dream

A Slayers fic  
By Sakura

Inspired by the song 'Strangers Like Me' from Disney's 'Tarzan'

_Whatever you do, I'll do it too_

The purple furred figure watched, hidden in the dense jungle, as two humans hacked their way through the foliage. Intrigued, he listened as one of them began to speak.  
"Ne, Lina. Why are we here again?" asked the perplexed blond man beside the rather petite red-haired woman.  
Lina hit her not so smart companion on the head before explaining for the nth time. "Look Gourry, we were heading back to Sairuun and got shipwrecked here, wherever here is, and now we're looking for some help. Got it?" she said exasperated.  
"Um, yeah, but why were we going back to Sairuun?" he asked again.  
Infuriated, Lina quickly cast a fireball and promptly fried the blond swordsman.  
The purple furred figure chuckled, utterly fascinated with the woman and her companion. He knew he could cast spells also, but never really had a chance to use them, since the beasts of the island had orders from their lord and master not to harm him and humans almost never came to the island.  
Inspired to try a spell, he threw a fireball, burning the bushes in the humans' way while the woman continued to beat up the taller man. Neither noticed the path had been cleared for them, got up from their scuffle and returned to their trek through the jungle.

_Show me everything and tell me how_

He followed the humans hoping to learn more about them, especially the one called Lina. She was like no other human Juu-ou-sama had brought to the island. Utterly unaware and afraid of the danger she was in. If she knew, she didn't show it and continued to boldly march through the trees.

_It all means something  
And yet nothing to me_

The humans had set up a camp and were now resting by a fire, started by the flame-haired sorceress. The sorceress, was now eating a fish she had caught using only a stick, hook and one strand of her hair. Her companion, was also eating a fish.  
Why did they fascinate him? They were only humans. To a mazoku like him, they were only a source of amusement and food. Cattle. But these two, no, the girl had wormed her way under his skin. He felt drawn to her.

_I can see there's so much to learn  
It's all so close and so far_

"Xellos, whatever are you doing way out here?" said an elegant looking woman dressed in fur skins.  
"Forgive me, Juu-ou-sama. I was bored and wished to see if there was anything interesting on the island today," answered the purple haired man, bowing before his master.  
The mazoku lord chuckled and patted her 'son's' head. "Well, did you see anything interesting, dear?"  
"Hai. There are two humans on our island, Juu-ou-sama. A man and a girl."  
"A man and a girl, huh?" The younger mazoku nodded, smiling with closed eyes. Peering through the undergrowth, she spied on the two figures by the fire. "Well, I'll be," she said.  
Curious, Xellos cocked his head to one side and patiently waited for his master to explain. "Juu-ou-sama?" he asked when she didn't answer.  
"It's Lina Inverse. It isn't everyday SHE decides to visit," said the pale haired woman.

"You know that human Juu-ou-sama?" he asked.  
"Hai. Xellos, I want you to wait back at the castle for me."  
The purple furred mazoku pouted and said, "Demo..."  
"No buts Xellos. I will deal with her myself, she is too dangerous for you alone. You have not yet mastered all the magic I've given you."  
Reluctantly, he bowed and teleported back to the castle that was his and her home.

_I see myself as people see me_

Xellos stood before an elaborate mirror looking at the reflection. He wanted to try a new 'look.' Before he had been something between a wolf and a human, which suited him and his master just fine. After all, the humans saw him as monster whenever they were brought before him to feed on, so why not look the part?  
But now, after watching and listening to the human Juu-ou-sama called Lina Inverse, he wondered what it would be like to be human. His purple-black fur had shortened until it was a little bit above the shoulders, the hair had faded from his face and smooth, pale skin was revealed. He decided to keep his amethyst eyes, since he considered them to be his best feature, besides, purple was his favorite color.  
Next he conjured a set of armor similar to that worn by the swordsman, but decided that he wasn't made for wearing armor and quickly dissolved it away and decided on a simple outfit of black trousers, yellow shirt, and a black cape.  
Smiling at the pleasing image before him, he next conjured a pair of shoes made of soft, brown leather and, on a whim, a pair of periwinkle gloves.  
Once he was certain he was aesthetically pleasing, he crossed the room and picked up his staff, which had been gathering dust leaning against a corner. It had been a gift from his master once he had been strong enough to stand on his own. Since there was never a need for it, he had discarded, until now.  
He gingerly wiped off the dust, sneezing when a speck of dust landed on his nose. When he was finished, Xel went back to the mirror, staff in hand and gazed once more at his reflection. He definitely looked like a human now and the staff was indeed a nice touch. Brushing a stray lock out of his eyes, Xel turned and walked out of his room.

_Oh, I just know there's something  
Bigger out there_

He sighed. He had been through these books a thousand times over and then some.  
Xel was in the castle library. As vast as it was, he had memorized every book and could practically recite them from memory. From them, he had learned about the outside world of humans and the ryuuzoku, the dragon folk. He had seen pictures and paintings of breathtaking landscapes, but was never allowed to visit them. Juu-ou-sama had forbade him to ever leave the island, her excuse being that he was not strong enough to survive on his own.

_I wanna know, can you show me_

He sighed again, remembering the age-old debate he and his master had often argued over.

"Please Juu-ou-sama, I'll be careful. I just wanna take a peek," begged a much younger Xellos.  
"Absolutely not, Xellos," said his 'mother.' The violet haired boy pouted. "You're not ready to go to the outside world. There are many dangers for an inexperienced mazoku," she reasoned.  
"You always say that. When will I be ready, Juu-ou-sama?"  
"When you're older, perhaps. Now run along and play, Xel-chan." She ruffled the boy's hair and went back to puffing on her cigarette.  
"Aww, man," he said leaving the throne room in search of something or someone to take his anger out on.

_I wanna know about these  
Strangers like me_

Slamming, the book down on the mahogany table, Xel snatched up his staff and teleported out of the library and the castle altogether.  
Moments later, he reappeared in a tree near the makeshift camp and watched as the human girl and man fight off his a pack of large wolves. Hidden in the undergrowth near the pack was an enormous she wolf, watching the humans as well, thankfully the tree hid him from her or she would be furious. 'Either Juu-ou-sama was lying about the girl or she's afraid of her if she hasn't taken care of her by now,' he thought.  
Watching his 'brothers' fly in a panic after half their members fall to Lina's fireballs and the man's swordsmanship, he admired them for a moment before dropping down to the ground before them and clapping.

Startled by the sound of someone clapping, Gourry tightened his grip on the Hikari no Ken while Lina readied another fireball. Standing before them was a young man dressed in what appeared to be the outfit of a traveling priest.  
"That was amazing. Very few humans have ever been able to defeat so many of the wolves on this island," he said, eyes closed and huge smile on his face.  
Gourry relaxed a little seeing the figure made no threatening moves, in fact he sat down before the fire. Lina, however, kept her fireball in hand. "Who are you?" she asked eyeing the strange man suspiciously.  
Smiling, he took one of their fish and began to roast it on the fire as he had seen them do. He was curious as to what human food tasted like. The next second, he found himself lying on the ground, burnt from head to foot.  
"Guess I should have warned you not to touch the food," said the blond man offering his hand. Staring at it, he realized the human had intended to help him up. 'How quaint. A human who's so dumb, he doesn't know a mazoku when he sees one,' Xel thought as he took the proffered hand and returned to a sitting position.  
"I am Xellos," he said offering his hand to the woman who slapped it away.  
"Just what are you after? Are you the one who sent those wolves after us?" she asked, glaring at him.  
'My what a fascinating creature this one is,' he thought. 'She suspects something, but doesn't know what it is. She's more intelligent than I thought.'  
"I'm not after anything Lina-san. I'm just a traveler from nearby." It wasn't a complete lie. He was after knowledge. About them and the world outside. You see, the books were old and horribly out of date. Also he did travel, around the island that is.  
"A traveler, huh? Then I suppose you could know where we could find a ship off this jungle island?" asked Lina. "And how do you know my name?"  
"I overheard you two talking during the fight. You are Lina, ne? And he is Gourry-san?" he said gesturing to the blond swordsman.  
"How'd ya do?" Gourry said shaking Xel's hand. 'He's strong, I'd better be careful around him as well,' Xel thought.  
"As to your other question I don't know of any ports on this island, but I know someone who may know a way off the island," he said glancing at the fish. "May I, Lina-sama?" he asked.  
Lina regarded him, then the fish. There was just enough for the three of them. Lucky for them the wolves had not gotten to her dinner. "All right I guess. Help yourself, just save some for me. Fighting a bunch of wolves works up an appetite," she said digging in to the pile of fish.  
"Arigatou," he said and began roasting another fish.  
"So who's this 'someone' of yours," Lina asked around the fish in her mouth.  
Xellos smiled, held up a finger and said, "Sore wa himitsu desu," before biting into the cooked fish. It was delicious! Almost as delicious as a human's negative emotions, but delicious nonetheless.  
Lina shrugged her shoulders and quickly grabbed a fish out of Gourry's hands. Soon the two began fighting, while the mazoku smiled, watching them with great amusement.

_Tell me more, please show me_

Lina was demonstrating her magic skills to a captive audience as since their was nothing else to do but wait till morning to start journeying Xellos' mysterious 'someone.'  
Gourry ooh and ahh'd like a child as she sent multicolored fireballs up into the night sky causing a rather beautiful fireworks display. Xel clapped and sat smiling with his eyes closed. Being a mazoku, he really needn't use his eyes to see the brilliant colors.  
"Please Lina-san, show us what else you can do," said Xel clapping after she had run out of ideas for more fireworks.  
"I don't do tricks!" she shouted.  
"Aww, but you're sooo good at them, Lina," Gourry said.  
"Who asked you?!" The petite sorceress elbowed him in the head.  
"Perhaps, you can tell me what's going on in the world Lina-san, since it's been a while since I've been off this island," Xel suggested.  
"Well, I don't see why not," she said returning to her seat between the two men and began to fill Xel in on the current state of the world, which caused Gourry to immediately drift off to dreamland.

_Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

Xel was asleep curled up beside the fire, nearby Lina and Gourry were also asleep. Unknown to them, Xel had put up a kekkai around the camp so none of Juu-ou-sama's beasts could harm them or him should they mistake him for a human.

"You little maggot! Get back here!" yelled a black-haired boy in peasant's clothes.  
"Nyah, nyah! Can't catch me!" a smaller boy with short, purple hair teased.  
"I'm gonna kill ya!" the taller boy lunged at the other boy, but only tripped when he sidestepped out of the way.  
"You're such an idiot Dalen! No wonder sensei kept you back TWO years," the smaller boy said, laughing.  
"You're dead, Xellos!" He picked up a rock and prepared to throw it at the other boy.  
"Dalen! Get your ass back here and clean up these stables!" yelled a man with dirty brown hair and equally dirty clothes.  
"You're lucky my old man's calling me, teacher's pet! Next time, I'm gonna beat the snot outta ya!" Dalen ran back certain he was going to get another beating from his father and prepared himself for another day of dreary life on the farm.  
"We shall see, Dalen. We shall see," Xellos said smirking and walked towards home.

Xellos woke up suddenly, not used to sleeping outdoors in a human form. "Eh? Oh that's right! I decided to spend the night with Lina-san." He rubbed the kinks out of his neck and turned over onto his back. "I wonder what that dream was about, though? Was it a memory or just a fantasy of mine?"  
The mazoku priest lay on his back for a while, pondering the dream until sleep once more overtook him.

_Every gesture, every move that she makes  
Makes me feel like never before_

During the next few days, Xellos grew more and more fascinated by Lina, though his brief fascination with Gourry had faded in the bright light that was the petite sorceress. Her brashness and straightforwardness was completely new to him.  
Most human females were weak, timid creatures who shrieked and struggled when they saw him. He was in his original half-man, half-wolf form of course, but still they were nothing compared to Lina.  
She was feisty, intelligent, stubborn, greedy, and not at all displeasing to look at. In fact, he thought she was rather cute. But she somehow changed from a cute girl/woman to a beautiful temptress.  
He loved the way her ruby eyes sparkled when she told him of the treasures she'd 'saved' from bandits or the 'feasts' she'd enjoyed during her adventures. And when she slept, the brave, independent veneer faded and she became an innocent, beautiful angel to him. He had spent the last couple of nights staring at her while she slept, and now he was staring at her from behind, glad the swordsman decided to walk alongside her.

_Why do I have  
This growing need to be beside her_

After a hard day's hike, the little group had pitched camp again. Lina sat beside Gourry munching on a bird he had caught for them. 'It's a good thing I learned to hunt from my 'brothers', ne?' Xel asked no one in particular as he watched the two humans fight over dinner, yet again.  
The mazoku sat alone, keeping a polite distance between them. He had seen enough of their fights to know to stay clear out of Lina's way when she was eating. Suddenly a strange pang hit him, one he'd never felt before. For no reason at all he wanted to be the one arguing with her, sitting next to her, feeling her hands on him.  
He sighed, causing the two combatants to stop in their tracks and turn toward him.  
"Ano, gomen nasai. I think my legs need a bit of stretching, I'll just go check on the area." Xel said getting up and walked out of the campsite. Lina and Gourry shrugged their shoulders and went back to battling each other for what was left of the bird.  
When he was sure she wasn't looking, Gourry looked at where the mazoku priest had been with a knowing look. 'I'm not sure, but I think he's falling for Lina. At least it think it's Lina he's falling for,' he thought.  
"Hey! Jellyfish brains! You in there?" Lina waved a hand in front of the blond's face, when that didn't seem to work, she shook him, violently. "Hey! I'm talking here!!!"  
"Huh? Were you saying something Lina?" he queried coming back from his wandering.  
"Yeah, I was saying something. I said I'm going to sleep now, I'm full," she said patting her belly.  
"Well, goodnight then Lina."  
She took off her cape and lay on the ground, covering herself with her cape. "G'night Gourry." With that, she promptly closed her eyes and within moments, was snoring up a storm.  
'Lina, whoever you decide to be with, I won't stand in your way. I know I'm not as smart as him so I know you can't possibly feel about me the way I feel about you,' he silently said and went about polishing the hilt of the Hikari no Ken.

_Ooo, these emotions I never knew_

Xellos was high in a tree not too far from the camp, his back leaning against the trunk while he sat on a branch, one leg hanging off. He was beginning to get worried. For whenever he was near Lina, he felt himself slowly becoming confused.  
True, she was a human and he knew almost next to nothing about human nature, but that didn't explain why his heart beat a little faster whenever she was near or whenever he did something to make her smile. He didn't even mind it when she hit him or did other nasty things to worm 'secrets' out of him.  
In fact, he wanted her attention. The day's events mostly consisted of him teasing Lina only to have her fireball and beat him as well as put him into the occasional headlock. Gourry was secretly glad it was the mazoku who got Lina's 'special care' instead of him. As much as he liked her, he really didn't need anymore bruises from the fiery tempered sorceress.  
Xel could see the blond man was in love with the sorceress, but he felt that he really didn't suit her nor deserve her. 'Lina-chan deserves someone more intelligent than a fool like him,' he thought. Lina-chan?! When did she become Lina-chan? He'd always called her Lina-san not Lina-chan. "Am I falling for her, too?" he mused out loud.  
It was a strange feeling, for him to actually miss someone when she was only a few feet away. But that wasn't all he wasn't sure, but he felt something new whenever the swordsman got closer to the girl. Was this what humans called jealousy? How interesting. He was certainly learning some very interesting things from these humans, he was glad Juu-ou-sama hadn't gotten rid of them just yet.

_Of some other world beyond this place  
Beyond the trees, above the clouds_

The purple haired mazoku looked up at the sky through the tree leaves and saw that stars were beginning to come out. 'Have I been gone that long?' he thought, 'I'd better get back before they decide to come looking for me. No good having them killed just yet, not while I can still learn so much from them. Especially, Lina-chan.'  
There it was again with 'Lina-chan.' Maybe he was falling in love with the human and maybe he wasn't, but he wasn't going to stop traveling with her, not until he'd gotten every secret from her and she was no longer needed.  
Jumping down from the tree, he looked one last time at the night sky, sighed, then went back to the camp.

_I see before me a new horizon_

On his walk back to the camp, Xellos did yet more thinking and came up with a decision. He would not only help Lina and Gourry off the island, but leave with them as well. He could learn so much from these two and felt it would be best if they were in their natural habit, being the outside world. Besides, he was still curious about the rest of the world.  
'Screw, Juu-ou-sama,' he thought bitterly as he secretly set up a kekkai. 'She never lets me leave the island and I'm beginning to think she never will.'

_I wanna know, can you show me  
I wanna know about these strangers like me_

As he sat, on 'guard duty' as Gourry called it, Xel felt his kekkai break for an instant and an all too familiar presence entered the camp. 'I'm in for it now,' he thought. "Konban wa Juu-ou-sama," he said with his usual cheerfulness.  
"Just what do you think you're doing Xellos?" Her voice was sweet, but held undisguised anger.  
"Forgive me, Juu-ou-sama," he said not at all remorseful. "I only wanted to know more about humans so I could find more amusing was to torture them." It was a very good explanation. After all it wasn't exactly a lie, but not completely the truth either.  
"I thought I told you not to go near her."  
"Pardon me, Juu-ou-sama, but you didn't. You only told me to wait at the castle and I did," again another half-truth.  
Xelas smiled at her 'son's' answer. "So I did, but you still disobeyed me."  
"I know Juu-ou-sama and I am willing to accept whatever punishment you have in mind," he said kneeling before the giant wolf, his neck bared. He was really willing to be punished, though he'd hate to see his chance at learning more slip through his fingers.  
Again another smile from his master. "Perhaps I spoke too hastily. It would please me if you kept an eye on that girl for a while Xel-chan." She sat down on her haunches, tongue hanging out.  
"Juu-ou-sama?!" He asked, truly surprised. She had never forgiven any servant of hers before.  
"You heard me, Xellos. Don't make me repeat myself," she growled.  
"H-hai, Juu-ou-sama."  
"Just don't let it happen again." With that, she licked her 'son's' cheek and left the camp.  
Xel couldn't believe his luck. She practically gave him permission to leave the island, well she didn't exactly say it, but she didn't say he couldn't keep an eye on Lina while she was _OFF_ the island. He went back to watching the beautiful sorceress sleeping, a huge grin on his face.

_Tell me more, please show me  
Something's familiar about these strangers like me_

Lina was the first to wake so she decided to take the next shift of 'guard duty.' "Hey Xellos, I'll take over now," she said placing a hand on the mazoku's shoulder.  
"Yare, yare, you're up early, Lina-chan," he said, "I thought Gourry-kun was supposed to be next.  
'Lina-chan?!' For some reason, she wasn't at all offended by the sudden familiarity. In fact, she kind of liked it. "Well, you know how he is. He's so dense, he'd probably sleep through the rebirth of Shabranigdo."  
"Indeed," said the purple haired priest, with his usual smiley face. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I'm not really that tired."  
"No it's all right, Xel," she said trying to hide the sudden blush on her cheeks, "I could use some time to think."  
"Oh what about?" he asked, noticing not only her sudden use of his 'mother's' nickname, but the apparent blush on her face. 'So that's what a blush looks like. It's rather cute on her.'  
Lina stuck her finger in front of his face and said, "Sore wa himitsu desu." Xellos smiled, utterly amused she should use his favorite saying. "Augh!!! Now I'm doing it!" The red-haired sorceress immediately began to pummel him into the ground. Meanwhile, Gourry kept snoring away through the whole thing.

After Lina had finished with him, Xellos decided it would be best to let her have her way for now and went back to sleep.

"Do you have to go Xel?" asked a girl with snow-white hair.  
"I'm sorry Amie, but I have to. If I stay here, your brother would make sure we'd never see each other again," said a young man with long, purple hair tied neatly in a ponytail with a white ribbon.  
"We'll never see each other, if you do go. Take me with you!" she pleaded.  
"I can't, that's just what Dalen would expect. He'd use that as an excuse to set the whole village on me. You know I'm not too popular around here," he said taking her hand in his.  
"I don't care what that asshole brother of mine or anyone else thinks! I love you!" She began to sob against his chest.  
"Amie, please don't cry. I'll find a way to send for you or come back to get you. I promise," he said stroking the girl's long, pale hair.  
"Y-you promise?"  
"I swear it." He titled her tear-streaked face to his and kissed her.  
"Amalthea! Where the hell are you?!" came the most hated voice in their young lives.  
"You'd better go, it'll be worse for us if Dalen catches us,' he said gently pushing her away.  
"But Xel-"  
"We'll be together again someday. I made a promise, so cheer up, ne?" He gave her one last kiss, then picked up his meager belongings and ran off out of the village.  
"Xel..." was all Amalthea could say before breaking down into tears.

Xel woke up feeling something wet upon his face. 'Rain? It didn't smell like rain before.' Seeing that no one else in the camp was wet, he reached up and realized he had been crying. Him, a mazoku. Crying. 'Mazoku don't cry,' he chastised himself. 'Do they?' He stared at the crystalline tears on his fingers. 'Why am I crying? Surely it can't be from some crazy dream? Can it?'  
Wiping the rest of the tears from his face, Xellos decided to forget about the whole thing and went about waking the rest up. 'Nothing like a good hike to clear the mind,' he thought with a smile.

_Come with me to see my world  
Where there's beauty beyond your dreams_

He was about to wake Gourry, but chose to let the blond man sleep. He turned toward the sleeping Lina. She hadn't moved from her guard position and obviously fallen asleep there. On a whim, the mazoku priest pressed his lips against hers. "Wake up sleepyhead," he breathed.

Feeling a slight pressure on her lips, Lina began to stir. "Wake up sleepyhead," a voice whispered and she woke with a start.  
"Xellos!!!!! What the hell in L-sama's name are you doing?!!!" she screamed.  
"Waking you up, Lina-chan. It seems to have worked very well, too."  
"Just don't try that again," she said, her face as red as her hair.  
'She's so kawaii when she does that,' thought Xel, pleased with himself. "Ne, Lina-chan, I want to show you something." Without waiting for an answer, he took her arm and phased them out of the camp -

- and into a clearing with a huge waterfall and crystal clear stream. Actually they were in a little cave hidden behind the waterfall.  
"Xellos where are we?" Lina asked, more than just a little worried.  
"Sore wa -"  
"Don't," she said threateningly, "even think of saying it." Smiling he just shrugged it off and cast a light spell. Dancing in the light along the walls were thousands of crystals each reflecting a million rainbows from the cascading water outside. "Xel! It's- it's beautiful." She gazed in awe at the sheer beauty around her.  
"I knew you would like it," he said before daring to kiss her again.

_Can you feel the things I feel  
Right now, with you_

He was kissing her. Again! Lina knew she should be doing something about this, but found she couldn't. Why should she? After all, it was only a kiss, right? 'What the hell's happening to me?' she thought as Xellos began to deepen the kiss.

She wasn't resisting like he'd thought she would. 'Hm, maybe she feels something for me, too. Like the way I feel about her.' He deepened the kiss, initially to test his limits, but when Lina wrapped her arms around his neck, he began moving his hands over the rest of her body.

_Take my hand  
There's a world I need to know_

Later, Xel and Lina were outside the cave lying on soft grass by the pool at the waterfall's bottom, her head tucked under the mazoku's chin. She had been aware of him stroking her hair for a while and chose to pretend to still be asleep.  
Xellos smiled as he contentedly stroked his lover's hair. "Lina-chan, I know you're awake. Why pretend?"  
Lina's eyes shot open, but she refused to leave the comfortable position she was in. "How'd you know?" she asked, holding him tighter.  
"Sore wa-"  
"Say it and this area's Dragon Slave fodder," she said irritatedly. During their days together as traveling companions, all she ever got to her questions was the now infamous line he so loved to say: 'Sore wa himitsu desu.' And she didn't want to hear it anymore. Quite frankly, it got on her nerves, if not Gourry's.  
"You're no fun," he said with mock hurt.

_I wanna know, can you show me  
I wanna know about these strangers like me_

"Xel, can I ask you something?" Lina asked, not knowing how to go about this. She had had suspicions about the man now lying beside her and she needed them cleared out before she could even consider a relationship with him.  
"What is it Lina-chan?"  
"You're a mazoku, right?" she said looking at him straight in the face, now.  
'Uh-oh, here it comes,' he thought. He'd hoped Lina would never guess, but he knew she was too smart to fool for long. He stayed silent for a long moment then, sighed. "I won't lie, Lina-chan. I am a mazoku."  
"I thought as much." She rolled off him onto her back and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly roll by. "I knew you couldn't be human when you kept popping in and out like that, and no human I know of can teleport like you just did with me."  
"You're angry with me?" he asked, certain she'd never want to see him again.  
"I should be, but I can't. First of all, we never asked if you were so you had no reason to tell us you were. Second..." Her voice trailed off, suddenly shy to admit what she was feeling.  
"Second?" he pressed.  
"Second..." She paused again then, swallowed before finishing. "I love you," she said turning once again red as her hair.  
He smiled, but not fully certain he heard right. 'She loves me?!' At first he thought he might be dreaming again but the warmth of the sunlight on his face was too real. He rolled over to one side and clasped the little sorceress to him. "I love you, too, Lina-chan."

_Tell me more, please show me  
Something's familiar about these strangers like me  
I wanna know_

"Oi! Lina, Xellos where are you?" came Gourry's voice from off in the distance.  
"We'd better get going," she said finding it extremely hard to leave his arms as she got up.  
"I guess so," he said annoyed at swordsman's intrusion. "But before we go, I have a favor to ask Lina-chan." He gently placed his arm around her shoulder, causing her to blush a little.  
"Yeah sure, what is it Xel?"  
"Don't tell him about this place o.k. I want it to be our little secret, ne?"  
Lina thought about it, glancing at the serene beauty of the waterfall and lake before them, remembering the cave hidden behind the waterfall. "It'd be a shame not to let him see this, but all right, I won't tell him."  
Xellos smiled. "Arigatou, Lina-chan." He gave her another kiss, which she returned ten-fold.  
"Oi Lina! Xellos!" came Gourry's voice more insistent this time.  
"Come along, love before he hurts himself."  
Lina, disappointed he broke their kiss, sighed and let herself be teleported with him.

"Lina!" said the blond man when she and Xellos popped out in front of him.  
"Xel and I had a little, um, discussing to do, and well we didn't want to wake you," she said feeling a tiny blush cross her face.  
'Xel? When did she start calling him that?' he thought as he noticed the mazoku had his hand around her waist. 'That must be why,' he thought forlornly. "Oh, that's all right, Lina. I had a good nap, so I'm ready to go if you are," he said hiding the hurt and disappointment he was feeling inside.  
Unnoticed to her, but to Gourry, Xel began to smirk once he picked up on Gourry's emotions. It seemed to say, 'You never had a chance with her you fool. So go ahead and give up like a good boy.'  
"Xel said there's a port nearby so we should be able to find a boat," she said turning away from her friend. She could see she had hurt him, but she really did love Xellos and Gourry was more like her big brother than someone she could love.  
Gourry smiled, falsely of course, and started off after the two lovers.

Within moments of reaching the 'port', which was actually an illusion created by Xel, they found a merchant more than willing to take them off the island. Lina stood at the gangplank looking at her mazoku lover. "You sure about this? You told me you've never been off the island," she whispered making sure Gourry didn't hear.  
"I've never been more sure in my life, Lina-chan," he whispered back.  
Satisfied, Lina gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and boarded the ship.  
Taking one last look at his home, Xellos caught sight of a girl with long snow-white hair in a lavender dress. 'Juu-ou-sama?' he asked but she was too frail, too transparent to be his master.  
She smiled, waved good-bye before saying, "I'll always love you, Xel."  
Startled, he blinked, then looked to see she had vanished. Shrugging it off, Xellos turned and followed his lover onto the ship.


End file.
